MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Oct 20, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: New Jersey’s wind debacle; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures snap losing streak; INTERNATIONAL: Oil ends third straight weekly loss; Polish judge denies Nord Stream suspect extradition.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS
New Jersey’s wind debacle
National Review/Rich Lowry
Governor Phil Murphy’s “European-style” energy strategy, which prioritized wind power while decommissioning fossil fuel and nuclear plants, has resulted in a policy failure for New Jersey. Despite ambitious clean energy goals, wind power has been a “no-show,” constraining the state’s energy supply. Consequently, residents have faced sharply increased utility rates, starting with a 20 percent rise this year, compounding already high costs. The state, which was once a small net energy exporter, is now a large net importer and still relies on natural gas and nuclear for 90% of its power. This costly and predictable failure has become a dominant issue, making the current gubernatorial race unexpectedly competitive. [MDN: Republicans have a real chance of beating the Democrat in this year’s governor race. Will NJ residents wise up (and rise up) and overthrow the Democrat stranglehold on the state? If it happens, the failure of unreliable wind energy will be one of the key reasons.]
NATIONAL
U.S. natural gas futures snap losing streak
Wall Street Journal
U.S. natural gas futures snaped a three-session losing streak with the Nymex front-month gravitating back to the $3.00/mmBtu level in range-bound shoulder-season trade. Moves above that have been sold as October weather remains mild and inventories look set to remain above the five-year average. “It’s going to take a much colder forecast if we’re to see storage levels move to a discount to the five-year average,” Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial said in a note. “Most bullish traders would like to see storage move to a -5% discount or lower vs the five-year average to move to a buying mode.” Natural gas settled up 2.4% at $3.008/mmBtu on Friday. [MDN: Whew! Back to $3 gas, finally. Let’s hope it stays there and goes higher.]
INTERNATIONAL
Oil ends third straight weekly loss
Bloomberg/Staff
Oil prices ended nearly flat but recorded a third consecutive weekly loss as signs of a growing global surplus weighed on the market. West Texas Intermediate closed at $57.54 a barrel, down 2.3% for the week, while Brent settled at $61.29. The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for next year’s oversupply, and surging demand for U.S. storage space signaled traders are bracing for a glut. Political developments added uncertainty: President Trump expressed optimism about easing trade tensions with China and announced plans to meet Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the Ukraine war—moves analysts say could push prices toward $50 a barrel. [MDN: “Analysts” say it “could” drive prices toward $50 per barrel. We’ll believe that when we see it. We maintain the price will once again climb above $60.]
Polish judge denies Nord Stream suspect extradition
Bloomberg/Maciej Martewicz
A Polish court refused to extradite Volodymyr Zhuravlov, a Ukrainian national suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, ruling that the 2022 destruction was a justified military action related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, not a terrorist act. Judge Dariusz Lubowski argued the actions were “justified, rational and just” and occurred in international waters, limiting German jurisdiction. The suspect, a former diving instructor wanted by Germany, was ordered released. The politically charged case saw Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk praise the decision, stating the problem was building the pipeline, not its destruction. Germany’s Foreign Minister signaled respect for the Polish court’s ruling. [MDN: Can you believe this issue is still playing out? So Ukraine was behind the bombs that disabled the Nord Stream pipelines. Given Russia’s invasion of their country, we don’t blame them for doing it. Neither does anyone else (except for Germany, the country receiving the Russian gas). Good on Poland.]